1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fuel-cell-equipped apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various technologies to mount a fuel cell unit to various types of apparatuses (such as vehicles, robots, ship and vessel, and aircraft) have been proposed to present. Generally, in a fuel cell unit to be mounted to an apparatus, a fuel cell module is housed in a case so as to be protected against external moisture and electromagnetic wave and to be electrically insulated. Further, in recent years, a technology has been proposed that a fuel cell is mounted to an apparatus though supporting members that include elastic members, such as rubber, in order to suppress vibration to the fuel cell input from the outside (For example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2002-235801).
However, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2002-235801, the number of the supporting members and the positions at which the supporting members support the fuel cell unit have not been considered adequately. Therefore, it is necessary to enlarge the supporting members so as to suppress vibrations to the fuel cell. However, if the supporting members are merely enlarged, a space for accessories that are installed to the fuel cell unit cannot be secured, and therefore it becomes difficult to install them.
Further, document US 2002/031697 A1 discloses a fuel cell stack capable of giving improved impact resistance and vibration resistance without causing the space occupied by the fuel cell stack to be increased. In a fuel cell stack for mounting in a vehicle in which a plurality of fuel cell units, each of which is formed by interposing a solid polymer electrolyte membrane between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode, are stacked in a horizontal direction with separators placed between each, mounting members used for installation are provided at backup plates that are outside fastening structure portions that are provided at both ends along the direction in which the fuel cell units are stacked, and an intermediate supporting member used for installation is additionally provided at an intermediate portion along the direction in which the fuel cell units are stacked.
Document US 2002/0187380 A1 discloses another fuel cell arrangement. There, a housing case that houses a fuel cell is provided with mounts for fixing two ends of a lower surface of an end plate that retains stacked unit cells of the fuel cell, and a mount for fixing a central portion of a lower surface of another end plate. Using these three mounts, the fuel cell is fixed to the housing case.